Japan Self-Defense Forces (postwar)
After the Great War of 2077, the remnants of Japan Self-Defense Forces in Hokkaido managed to retain order in the island. Unlike many military forces in the era immediately after the war, General Souichiro Kazama of the JSDF kept his promise to assist in building a new civilian government and transfer power to them as order was restored. As such, after a little over a decade of martial law, authority in Hokkaido was returned to the civilian government in Hokkaido, and the remnants of the JSDF, still operating under the same name, returned to their pre-war status as subordinate to the civilian government, though other territories in what would become the postwar Japanese state would remain under military control for longer, until criminal elements were pacified and the government and society could be reorganized. By 2120, only the "frontier territories"- which ran across central Honshu, including the former Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Nagano, and Niigata prefectures- was under military rule. This region, which included both the ruins of the greater Tokyo area, devastated by multiple nuclear detonations, and mountainous area in the north, both of which are sparsely populated, represented the borders of the southernmost point of the Hokkaido government's expansion prior to the fall of The Shogunate. While they are the largest military force in Japan, rivaled only by the Communist Party of Japan's military, the pre-war JSDF's numbers are only a shadow if it's pre-war self, consisting of about 25,000 active-duty personnel and about the same number of reservists, as well as several hundred thousand suitable for recruitment in case of emergency. The force owns about 2000 unarmored vehicles, 500 armored vehicles, about 500 of which are tanks, and the rest are APCs, IFVs, or Type 31 Armored Combat Suits. The Air Self Defense Forces possess about 350 aircraft, about 100 of which are restored pre-war fighters, mostly F80Js, but also small numbers of F-108 "Rapier"s and Mitsubishi FX-45s (a Japanese fighter design roughly comparable to the Rapier). The Maritime Self-Defense force is centered around the pre-war guided missile destroyer JS Mirai, as well as four guided missile frigates and six missile boats (though pre-war missiles are rare), as well as numerous armed civilian vessels. History After the Great War of 2077, the northern island of Hokkaido, home to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces Northern Army was not struck by any Chinese nuclear weapons, as it was not targeted by any ballistic missiles, and all Chinese bombers directed toward the two largest cities on the more sparsely inhabited island, Sapporo and Hakodate, were intercepted by Japan Air Self Defense Forces or US Military fighter aircraft, sparing it from the devastation that was inflicted on Tokyo and countless other cities in Honshu and Kyushu. In the wake of the nuclear bombings, General Shuichiro Kazama took command of the JSDF forces on the island and restored order with a year, promising a restoration of civilian government on Hokkaido no later than 2090. Unlike many military commanders who took control of regions in the wake of the Great War, Kazama kept his promise, and the postwar Japanese Diet took office in 2091 after an election the previous year. Northern Honshu, however, would remain under JSDF authority for longer, as JSDF forces continued to reassert control over Northern Honshu, which was devastated by a nuclear attack on Misawa, the site of a US Air Force Base. General Kazama retired in 2097, shortly after the restoration of civilian rule in the Aomori Prefecture. The JSDF advance into the northern Honshu would continue, into the Iwate and Akita prefectures in 2115. The JSDF first encountered heavy resistance from rival warlords in the former Sendai and Fukushima prefectures, including some who were previously JSDF personnel and had access to pre-war armored vehicles. While the forces of the warlords were defeated, in large part thanks the JSDF air and naval supremacy, in the end, it took until 2118 to eliminate the last raiders and warlords from the ruined cities and rugged mountains of the region. In 2127, the JSDF reached the ruins of Tokyo, and managed to seize several important outposts, including Fuji Army Base, and scored a major morale victory by raising the Japanese flag on Mt. Fuji for the first time since the Great War. With the civil government unwilling to institute a draft, further expansion of the postwar JSDF beyond the ruins of Tokyo was prevented. By 2150, civil government was restored in all prefectures northeast of the greater Tokyo area, though the greater Tokyo area itself remained a military territory, with only the main roads and military bases really being under JSDF control- the actual city of Tokyo proper was particularly notorious as being infested with raiders, bandits, and feral ghouls. The JSDF would maintain this status quo, occasionally fighting raider incursions on the territory of the postwar Japanese state and attacking major raider bases, until the 2200s. In 2201, the JSDF would deploy forces outside its territory for the first time since retaking northern Honshu, when the deployed a naval task force in support of a major trading partner, the Ryukyu Republic after they were attacked by the forces of the Communist Party of Japan, who launched an invasion of Amami-jima. The JSDF deployed the Southern Naval Task Force, consisting of two guided missile frigates, four missile boats, twelve armed container ships, and the submarine Kuroshio, to assist the Ryukyuan forces, transporting with them eight JASDF F80J fighter jets, as well as ammunition, fuel, and other supplies. The JSDF support allowed the Ryukyuans to repel the attacking communists, who were forced to retreat to their southernmost territory, the island of Tanegashima off the south coast of Kyushu. The next major conflict involving the postwar JSDF came in 2256, when The Shogunate, a rising power in the "no-man's land" between the postwar Japanese State and CPJ territory, attempted launch an invasion across Lake Hamana, to the west of Hamamatsu, as all pre-war bridges and tunnels traversing or bypassing the lake had long-since collapse. Branches Ground Self-Defense Forces Air Self-Defense Forces Maritime Self-Defense Forces Equipment The Japan Self-Defense Forces use mostly either pre-war Japanese or American-made equipment, though some Chinese-made hardware is used as long as ammunition and fuel supplied remain. The Japanese state has undergone an industrial revival sufficient to allow the production of small arms, ammunition, fuel, and, on a more limited scale, some parts for aircraft and armored vehicles, though they still rely heavily on stocks of pre-war supplies. Standard Issue Small Arms Special Issue Small Arms *'M16 Assault Rifle' (5.56mm): Older US-issue assault rifle, scavenged from ex-US military bases *'R93 Assault Rifle' (5.56mm): Later-model US-issue assault rifle, scavenged from ex-US military bases *'M199 Assault Carbine' (5.56 or 5mm): US-issue assault carbine, scavenged from ex-US military bases *'Type 93 Assault Rifle' (5.56mm): Variant of the Chinese Type 92 Assault Rifle designed for use by US 5th column and Japanese People's Army, uses 5.56mm rounds widely available in western countries. *'Arisaka Type 99' (converted to 7.62mm NATO): WWII-era bolt-action rifle, widely used by civilians in post-war Japan, sometimes carried by reservists in emergencies if other weapons are not available. *'M1 Garand' (converted 7.62mm NATO): WWII-era semi-automatic rifle, kept in storage since retirement in the 1960s, sometimes issued to reservists when other weapons are not available. *'M1 Carbine/Howa M600' (.30 carbine): WWII-era US semi-auto carbine and 1960s-era Japanese hunting rifle based on same design, with some copies made postwar, sometimes carried by reservist in emergencies. *'Minebea PM9' (9mm): retired in 2020s, sometimes issued to reservists in emergencies *'Minebea SCK-65' (9mm): 1960s-vintage SMG, sometimes issued to reservists. *'Colt M1911 and M2023' (.45 ACP): Old handguns taken from storage, sometimes issued to reservists. Some soldiers also favor the more powerful .45 round. *'New Nambu Model 60' (.38): Pre-war police revolver, sometimes issued to reservists. *'M12 Combat Shotgun' (12 Gauge): US-made selective-fire combat shotgun *'Hawk Semi Auto Shotgun' (12 gauge): Chinese-made combat shotgun, uses same 12-guage shells as M12 and Miroku-Browning models. *'Sumimoto Type 62 and 74 Machine Gun' (7.62mm): Mid-20th century light machine guns, used as infantry support weapons and vehicle armaments *'Type 76 Anti-Power Armor Rifle' (.50 BMG or 20mm Hispano): Chinese anti-material and anti-power armor rifle, models in JSDF service are either 20 x 110mm Hispano or converted from 14.5mm to .50 BMG. *'M79 Grenade Launcher (40mm)': Single-shot 40mm grenade launcher, issued to unit grenadiers *'China Lake Grenade Launcher' (40mm): US-made multi-shot grenade launcher, issued mostly to special forces *'Howa Type 96 Automatic Grenade Launcher' (40mm): Fully automatic grenade launcher, mounted on vehicles and stationary positions *'Mitsubishi Type 46 Plasma Induction Weapon' (Plasma Cell): Plasma rifle, issued to marksmen, energy weapons specialists, and special forces in various configurations. *'Winchester P94 Plasma Caster': Heavy Plasma weapon, used as squad support weapon *'M72 Light Anti-Tank Weapon': Ex-US anti-tank rocket launcher *'M45 DAPW': US-made anti-tank plasma weapon Light Vehicles *'various trucks': over 500 in inventory, includes both pre-war civilian and military vehicles. *'Toyota Common Light Truck': Mid-21st century light utility vehicle, used as both transport and weapons platform, 200 in inventory *'various construction vehicles': used by JSDF engineering corps, about 150 of all types, including cranes, forklifts, loaders, and excavators. *'various tractors': Pre-war civilian tractors, sometimes used to tow artillery and trailers in absence of other vehicles, at least 100 in inventory, some fitted with dozer blades or loader buckets. Armored Vehicles *'Type 24 Auxiliary Tank:' Tractor Tank constructed on a Komatsu crawler tractor, armed with 60mm mortar modified for direct fire, over 100 in inventory. *'M113 Armored Personnel Carrier': Ex-US tracked APC, 14 in inventory *'Type 60 APC': 1960s Vintage tracked APC, 6 in inventory *'Type 73 APC': Mid-20th century tracked APC, includes bulk of post-war JSDF APCs, 175 in inventory *'Type 31 Infantry Fighting Vehicle': Mid-21st Century tracked APC, armed with 30mm chaingun and two-shot anti-tank missile, 43 in inventory *'M51 Infantry Fighting Vehicle': US-manufactured mid-21st century wheeled APC, 36 in inventory *'Type 74 Main Battle Tank': Mid-20th century main battle tank 74 in inventory *'Type 41 Main Battle Tank': Mid-21st century main battle tank, comparable to M56 Main Battle Tank and Type 51/61/71 MBT. 68 in inventory. *'M56 Main Battle Tank': US-made MBT, 8 in inventory. *'Type 31 Armored Combat Suit': Armored combat exoskeleton, 52 in inventory. *'Type 60 Self-Propelled Recoilless Rifle': 20th century AA tank destroyer, 12 in inventory. *'Type 87 self-propelled AA gun': anti-aircraft tank, twin 35mm main guns. 36 in inventory. *'T-45 Power Armor': Power armor inherited from US forces involved in Liberation of Japan Artillery *'M101 105mm howitzer' *'M198 155mm howitzer' *'M110 203mm howitzer' *'106mm recoilless rifle' *'81mm mortar' *'120mm mortar' *'Type 39 Self-propelled artillery:' Mid 21st-century mobile artillery (155mm), 42 in inventory *'Type 75 Self-propelled artillery:' 20th century artillery (155mm), 34 in inventory *'M110 203mm self-propelled artillery:' 20th century US 203mm self-propelled gun *'Type 53 MLRS': pre-war multiple launch rocket system, 21 in inventory *'Type 02 MLRS': Post-war manufactured 120mm MLRS, similar to NCR Standard Artillery Rocket. 350 in inventory. *'Type 17 MLRS:' Heavy post-war MLRS, 300mm caliber. Designed 2217, used on the Daisetsuzan-class Assault Ship. Aircraft *'CV-80': multi-role VTOL, inherited from US military and JSDF, 41 in inventory *'V-47 Umidori': Japanese indigenous VTOL aircraft manufactured by Fuji Heavy Industries, in limited service at start of Third Sino-Japanese War, 12 in inventory *'UH-1 Huey': Mid-20th century multirole helicopter modified with atomic engine, about 100 in inventory *'AH-56W Cheyenne': 2050s nuclear-powered update of original 20th century attack helicopter, 10 in inventory *'F80J:' JSDF variant of US-made F80, 73 in inventory *'F-108 "Rapier"': US-made advanced fighter, 15 in inventory *'Mitsubishi F43': Japanese-made advanced fighter, 12 in inventory *'repurposed civilian aircraft': various civilian aircraft, repurposing depends on exact model of aircraft, may be used as transports, patrol aircraft, trainers, light attack planes, or even bombers. about 100 in inventory. Naval Vessels *'Takao-class Guided Missile Destroyer': two in inventory. JS Mirai, JS Shinsekai *'Tachikaze-class Guided Missile Frigate': four in inventory, JS Tachikaze, JS Tokitsukaze, JS Hamakaze, JS Amatsukaze *'Hayate-class Missile Boat': six in inventory, all named for weather-related phenomena and share the names of 20th or 21st century Japanese warships. JS Hayate, JS Akatsuki, JS Shirayuki, JS Fubuki, JS Inazuma, JS Ikazuchi *'various light boats': over 200 in inventory, mostly re-purposed civilian vessels *'armed transports': 25 in inventory, armed pre-war container ships, tankers, and large ferries, used both as armed transports and for patrolling low-risk areas. *'Daisetsuzan-class Fire Support Ship'- pre-war container ship armed with 4 203mm, 6 105mm howitzers, 2x 300mm MLRS, numerous smaller guns, used for attacking shore targets. All four named for volcanoes on Hokkaido. Four ships: JS Daisetsuzan JS Asahi, JS Yotei, JS Akan. *'Kuroshio-class Submarine': 2 in inventory, JS Kuroshio, JS Oyashio Category:Post-War militaries Category:Post-War Factions